This invention relates to new and useful improvements in windmills and is particularly concerned with a windmill which operates on a horizontal axis.
Various types of windmills have been used for the purpose of obtaining power from the natural flow of air. Apparatuses now being tested and/or used are primarily directed to the stand-up type windmill having a plurality of blades or vanes which are feathered for the purpose of providing a glancing surface to produce the driving force. Such windmills are extremely costly and require considerable technical expertise to construct them. In addition, the glancing force of the wind on the feathered blades is extremely inefficient since the effective sail surface is very small.
Devices have also been proposed which use horizontal axes but the over-all construction thereof is not of an efficiency that make them effective for practical use. Such lack of efficiency is considered to be due to the complexity of structure and their heavy weight.